The Three R's of Delegation: Realism, Responsibility, Results

We had as many guests as Toastmasters at our 5th Thursday special event: The Three R's of Delegation: Realism, Responsibility, Results.

Toastmaster Janet Krenn led the workshop, aimed to help everyone improve their delegation skills and team success. We learned about the importance of communication and letting go in delegation.

Here are some of the key take aways from last night:

• To delegate effectively, you need to transfer (1) a clearly explained task, (2) the responsibility for the task, and (3) the authority to use resources available and make decisions necessary to complete it.

• Don't just delegate any task. Be thoughtful about whether something is worth delegating. If you can answer yes to any of the following questions, a task may be ripe for delegation:
• Will the task help develop skills or utilize strengths in a team member?
• Does another team member have the time to complete this task?
• Is getting a result more important to me than having the process done my way?
• Is this task on-going and routine so that I'll only have to explain the task once, but then I could rely on that team member to handle it every time?

• Asking team members, "Do you understand?" isn't enough to ensure they really do understand the task they've been assigned. Instead, try to ask questions that require more than a yes/no answer to get your team member to demonstrate to you that they really do understand the task.

Thanks to everyone who came out last night to help make this 5th Thursday special event a success!

Speeches Only

Four members took us up on the All Speeches Day at our last Oyster Point Speakers meeting.

Christy Gardener acted as Toastmaster and gave the first speech of the evening, practicing a presentation she's planning to give at work about a new process for requesting and receiving funds.

Regina Gilliam completed her 4th speech with Oyster Point Speakers, and shared advice for how to take care of yourself when you're a care-giver for someone else.

Sumit Arora checked off speech number 9 last night--one more to go until he completes his Competent Communicator!!

Janet Krenn closed the meeting leading a discussion on how our club might do a better job of reaching out to the twenty-something crowd.

And the meeting would not have been so well managed, had it not been for Naomi Lewis who was our fantastic timer.

Thanks to everyone that made it out!

Announcement

• May 30 is a 5th Thursday Special Event, and we're having a Delegation Skills Workshop "The Three 'Rs' of Delegation: Responsibility, Realism, Results." The workshop is free and open to all. Bring a guest, and meet us at El Tapatio in Newport News at 6:45pm.

A Great Evening to be an Oyster Point Speaker!

We have so many great meetings at Oyster Point Speakers, and this one was no exception! From speeches that educated and entertained to Table Topics that had people in the audience whispering "Wow! That was good!", on Thursday April 18, Oyster Point Speakers brought their A-game to a fantastic meeting.

Philip Sweat was our Toastmaster of the Evening.

Christy Gardener presented on the "Toastmasters Promise," completing her last project to obtain Advanced Leadership Bronze and get our club one goal closer to be a President's Distinguished Club in 2013.

Daniel Dillon gave his second speech in the Competent Communicator Manual, and told us about how to post smart to protect our online reputation.

Lily Carson, new member,  gave her Ice Breaker entitled, "Where Are You From?," a fabulously told collection of stories about her life and background that had the audience smiling and laughing throughout.

Arnelia Hancock got us a little nostalgic with her Table Topics, where we pulled different toys out of a bag and told the audience why the object makes us happy.

Regina Gilliam critiqued our meeting as the General Evaluator, reminding us all to keep working on finalizing our agendas before the meetings so we can start on time and help our meeting leaders better manage the meetings.

Ribbon Winners

• BEST TABLE TOPICS - Naomi Lewis
• BEST EVALUATOR - Janet Krenn
• BEST SPEAKER - Lily Carson

Announcements

• We're looking for new club officers for the 2013-2014 term beginning in July. Email president-2220@toastmastersclubs.org if interested.
• Spring Conference is only three weeks away on May 10 in Virginia Beach. Check out the District Website for more information: http://distrcit66.org

Lily Carson receives the Best Speaker Ribbon from Toastmaster of the Evening Phillip Sweat.

Oyster Point Speakers Club # 2220 - Meeting was called to order by SAA Phillip Sweat. 

Toast Master of the Evening: Wade Miner
General Evaluator: Magda Brugos
Table Topics Master: Phillip Sweat

 Speakers:
Janet Krenn
Zach Fauver

The evenings speeches were informative, practical and enjoyable. Janet Krenn lead a discussion on the use of video camera and microphone to record speeches  There are two significant advantages to having the speeches recorded. First, it is a good promotional element to have speeches on YouTube. Potential members can view speeches to gain a better understanding of Oyster Point Speakers activities. Also it will give speakers the opportunity to go back and review their speeches and better understand the areas they do well in, and the areas they need improvement on.  Concerns among the group centered around privacy. Many members are not comfortable having their speeches publicly available on YouTube. This concern was resolved by having the option for private viewing, and gaining specific permission from the speaker before airing it on YouTube.

Zach Fauver gave a speech on working by referral in business. He used specific examples from his job as a residential real estate agent. 

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker: Janet Krenn

Best Evaluator: Christy Gardner

***Dues were also due, and should be paid to remain in good standing.

Fab Five and Fond Farwell

March 21, 2013 - El Tapitio Restaurant

Oyster Point Speakers Club # 2220 - Meeting was called to order by SAA Phillip Sweat.

Toast Master of the Evening: Zach Fauver
General Evaluator: Phillip Sweat
Table Topics Master: Teddy Clancy

Evenings Five Fabulous Speakers:
Sumit Arora
Magda Brugos
Danita Fox
Janet Krenn
Rick Boyer

The evenings speeches were all inspirational, some sprinkled with humor, and some took us back in time to an earlier OPS club...and each speech without question gave us time to reflect on the present and future of not only our personal lives, but that of the OPS club.

The last speaker of the evening Rick Boyer gave his farewell speech to the OPS members present, and the guests in attendance. It was a warm, personal and wonderfully inspiring journey down memory lane with Rick on his past and present time with OPS as well as the different roles he held and the importance of the future of the club. It was no surprise that he also took home the speaker of the evening!

Rick's departure is bitter sweet, he has been a blessing, mentor and back bone to the OPS club in so many ways, and he will be missed dearly. We wish Rick and his family all the best and congratulate him in this new journey.

Ribbon Winners

Best Speaker: Rick Boyer

Best Evaluator: Naomi Lewis

Best Table Topics: Magda Brugos

 

***Important item: Talk up Toastmasters campaign on Facebook ends March Sunday March 31st: Don't forget to participate to have a chance to win fabulous prizes.

 

***Dues were also due, and should be paid to remain in good standing.

 

 









 

 

February 21, 2013 International Speech and Table Topics Contest

OPS Toastmasters Club - First Contest of the Year

Our first contest of the year was held at El Tapatio, the meeting was called to order order by SAA Phillip Sweat.

OPS President and Contest Master -Janet Krenn warmly welcomed guests and members giving a brief explanation of the evenings agenda and introduced the Chief Judge for the evening Naomi Lewis.

Official Timer: Teddy Clancy
Ballot Counter: Rick Boyer
Jugdes: Phillip Sweat, Frank Gillerlan, Barbara Basabilbaso

Our meeting quickly got under way starting with the Table Topics speeches.

Table Topics Contestants: Magda Brugos and Zach Fauver  

Table Topics Subject: If you opened a fortune cookie that read: “You probably won’t live long enough to complete them all” how would you find the silver lining in this otherwise seemingly dark cloud of a fortune?
The votes were cast, ballots quickly tabulated and our second portion of the meeting International Speech began.

International Speech Contestants: Sumit Aurora and Jean Smith

Sumit Aurora speech title: The happy realization through a tough route. 
Jean Smith speech title: Just do it, aspiring to your dreams.

Contest Winners:

Table Topics: Zach Fauver

International Speech: Sumit Aurora

 

 

Announcements:

After a quick show of hands it was voted that our new venue for OPS meetings beginning March 2013 will be El Tapatio.

 

The winners of this club contest will be competing in the Area 43 Contest to be held March 14th 2013 @ 6:45 pm - Yorktown Library, 8500 George Washington Memorial Hwy. Come out and encourage our contestant winners to another victory!!!

 

Our fist trial meeting at El Tapatio, Mexican Restaurant

Oyster Point Speaker’s Club Minutes
Thursday, February 7, 2013


Phillip Sweat, Sergeant at Arms, called the meeting to order at 6:48pm.
Tim Tonkovic was our Toastmaster of the Evening and he welcomed the group to El Tapatio—a new potential venue for our meetings. The room was festive and our spirits were high as we began another successful Toastmaster’s meeting. Regina Gilliam, General Evaluator, introduced her team and they explained their roles which serve the purpose of putting structure around the meeting.

Tonight’s speeches were about life experiences.
Sumit Arora gave his 5th Competent Communicator speech about his brief experience as a tarot card reader which began in the Winter of 2005 when he received a set of tarot cards from a friend. While he was learning the art of tarot card reading, Sumit was challenged to look at life more closely for the “little things” that people aren’t often aware of.

Daniel Dillon, one of our newest members, gave his Icebreaker speech about the life journey that lead him to Newport News where he works in children’s ministry at Bethel Baptist Church. Daniel is on the road to becoming a confident leader and he’s excited that Toastmaster’s will play a role in his development. We look forward to supporting him!

An entertaining round of Table Topics was then lead by Tim Tonkovic with the help of his trusty Table Topics App.

Ribbon Winners
Best Table Topics Speaker: Rick Boyer
Best Evaluator: Christy Gardener
Best Speaker: Daniel Dillon (pictured)

Guests: Kylee and Sameer
Return visitors: Marilyn and Donna

Concluding Announcements
Acting President Christy Gardner
• Leadership Training is this Saturday the 9th from 8:30am-12:30pm at the ODU Workforce Development Center
• Our Area Contest will be at Angelo’s Steak and Pancake House at 6:45pm on March 14th
VP Public Relations Zach Fauver
• “Talk Up Toastmaster’s” Membership Drive is kicking off this month
o Spread the word to your family, friends, co-workers, and church members
o There are two exciting prizes available for those who engage their Facebook network in this Membership Drive

5th Thursday Special Event: Networking Workshop

Last night, Toastmaster Lauren White led us in a fantastic special event: a networking workshop!

The workshop featured presentations on constructing elevator pitches (Sumit Aurora), building your network (Rick Boyer), and tips for how your everyday Facebook activity can be used to create your personal brand (Zach Fauver).

By the end of the meeting, guests and members had a toolkit of ideas as well as a first draft of their own personal elevator pitch they can use when introducing themselves to new contacts.

Unlike our regular meetings, 5th Thursday Special Events are meant to provide additional professional development opportunities to members, and yesterday's event did not disappoint!

Important Announcements

• LOCATION CHANGE - Next week (February 7) we'll be meeting at El Tapatio (615 Thimble Shoals Blvd, Newport News, VA 23606). As always, we'll be starting our meeting at 6:45p.m. 
• ADVANCED TRAINING - Officers' Training will be on February 9 (Saturday) at the ODU Peninsula Workforce Development Center. Training covers important leadership skills, such as delegation and organization, and is open to any Toastmasters Member. You can find directions to the Workforce Development Center here:http://www.napmseva.org/directions_odu_hampton.htm
• CLUB CONTESTS - On February 21, our 3rd Thursday meeting, we'll be having our club speech and table topics contests. Guests are welcome, and location is TBD.
• NEW MEMBER FEE STARTS IN APRIL - Oyster Point Speakers voted to start including a one-time new member fee to cover the costs of giving all new members official name badges. We won't start collecting this $8 fee until April. So if you or your friend was thinking about joining Oyster Point Speakers, join between February and March to avoid this fee.

January 20, 2013

The January 17th meeting was called to order by SAA Phillip Sweat.

Toastmaster of the Day; Lauren White shared with guests the "mission" of Toastmasters and introduced Wade Minor DTM, General Evaluator of the meeting.

Wade introduced his evaluation team and they explained their roles for the meeting and Wade then returned control of the meeting back to Lauren White.

The evenings speeches were very educational, enlightening and inspiring! 
 
The Speakers for the evening: Rick Boyer - "Salary Negotiations", Arnelia Hancock - "Confronting Adversity", Danita Fox -  "Event Management" and Sumit Arora  -  "However fast you drive you still have to stop at the red light".
 
Ribbon Winners
Best Speaker: Sumit Arora
Best Evaluator: Janet Krenn
Table Topics: Barbara Basabilbaso
 
After the ribbons were handed out Lauren invited guests to introduce themselves and share what prompted them to visit Oyster Point Toastmasters, then turned the floor over to the Oyster Point club President; Janet Krenn.
 
Janet shared announcements and made closing comments.

Important Announcements

• Oyster Point Speakers is moving! Club members will be voting on which of two locations we will move to beginning in February. Stay tuned for more information.
• Possible dues increase for new members! Club members will also be voting on instituting a one-time new member fee to cover the costs of new members for the club. If approved, this will not take place until March. If you've been thinking of joining Oyster Point Speakers or you have a friend who's talked about it before, new members that join in February will not be subject to this one-time fee.

• Networking Workshop January 31st. Join us for our next 5th Thursday special event, a networking workshop. We'll be writing and practicing elevator pitches, learning to organize our network, and getting tips for using Facebook for networking success. The event is free to members, guests, visitors, and everyone in between. Meet at Angelo's at 6:45p.

 

• Advanced Training for Members on February 9th. If you missed January's Winter Leadership Institute, consider attending the second (and final) installment on Saturday February 9 at the ODU Peninsula Workforce Development Center on 600 Butler Farm Road in Hampton.

New Year, new goals and the steps to Stay on Track!

Oyster Point Toastmasters January 3, 2013

We had a full house to include several guests, if you missed the meeting, we certainly missed you. You missed out on some great speeches!

Toast Master of the Day: Phillip Sweat

General Evaluator: Lauren White
Speech Evaluators: Charlene Gilbert Salter, Christy Gardner, Zach Fauver, Rick Boyer

Timer and Photographer: Janet Krenn

Ah Counter/Word Master & Ballot Counter: Arnelia Hancock

Grammarian Listen up Master: Wade Minor

Table Topics Master: Naomi Lewis

 

Speakers:

Barbara Basabilbaso - 3rd Speech, Competent Communicator "Get to the Point" 

Regina Gilliam - 3rd Speech, Competent Communicator "Get to the Point"  

Curtis Lassiter - 3rd Speech,  Storytelling

Sumit Arora - 2nd Speech, Competent Communicator "Organize your Speech"

There was a common theme from two speeches this evening. First was Barbara, acknowledging setbacks when working towards a goal. Taking it across the finish line was Regina with the steps necessary to follow through and use them to stay on track and maintain that ON list!

Next it was story time! The very entertaining and personal story of "The day his head, his ego and his blessings all exploded", when Curtis met his wife.

Sumit Arora graciously shared and educated us with "Out of the box solutions for successful job procurement" right timing achieves the right results!

 

All of our speakers did a great job this evening, it amazes me how much can be learned from each speaker, but more importantly watching them grow in their journey to become better speakers!

 

Ribbon Winners:

 

Best Table Topics: Crystal (Curtis Lassiters sister and guest)

Best Evaluator: Christy Gardner

Best Speaker: Regina Gilliam

 

Important Announcements:

Everyone Invited to Advanced Training

To be a President's Distinguished Club, we need two more members to attend advanced training this winter. Join us on Saturday, January 12 in Virginia Beach between 8:30a to 12p. It's free! Contact our club President for more information:

president-2220@toastmastersclubs.org

Next meeting January 17th.